Collection and Reporting of Student Race and Ethnicity Data

The collection and reporting of race and ethnicity was updated in 2015-16 to align with U.S. Department of Education guidelines. Because of these changes, use caution when you interpret College Board reports and make comparisons between 2015-16 results and race and ethnicity subgroup data from prior years.

Test takers now complete a two-part question that asks them to indicate their racial and ethnic group.

Ethnicity categories are:

Cuban

Mexican

Puerto Rican

Another Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin

Not of Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin

Race categories are:

American Indian or Alaska Native

Asian (including Indian subcontinent and Philippines origin)*

Black or African American

White (including Middle Eastern origin)

Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander

*Prior to 2016, this category was Asian, Asian American, or Pacific Islander.

Important changes:

Students may select all options that apply. In prior years, they were asked to select one option.

Students who identify as both “Hispanic” and another race are reported as “Hispanic.”

Students reported as “Two or more races” are non-Hispanic.

Although “Other” as an option is no longer available, it may continue to be reported until all students have answered the new two-part question.

Again, use caution when making comparisons between the new data and race and ethnicity data from prior years.